Just for the sake of it...

Hello adoring Blog Fans! So, I thought i'd take a few moments just to catch up. Life is going pretty good, therefore I dare not complain.

First of all, I found out today that the result of my "solo" audition, pre-break, was successful. I auditioned, at the advice of my voice teacher though not altogether confident of my performance. But lo, and behold, I got the part. For our Christmas concert we're doing Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols", and I have a solo and a part of a duet. That makes me very nervous, yet excited, panicked, yet elated. Boy, with all of these conflicting emotions I might get a headache. And, of course, I say this not to boast of my accomplishments, but in all things to give thanks to God, and recognize that without him I can be nothing at all. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I am living a dream, and it's so amazing to me. The thing I've wanted to so much to happen, he's making to happen and also making me to flourish. It's not without it's pain, sacrifice and some disappointments, but truly, truly, when he does a thing, he does it well!

I'm not altogether unfamiliar with "Ceremony of Carols" as we sang several songs from it while in high school, mainly "This Little Babe" and "Wolcum Yole". Ah, sweet WY Concert Choir memories.

Oh, going back to giving Glory to God, have I mentioned lately, how absolutely grateful I am to have him involved in the small things in my life. I mean the intricate details? I mean even down to where he helped me pass a test, literally!! An "A" on my music history exam!?!? NOTHING BUT THE MERCY!!! Or i'll just say like my friend Mares, "MERCY!". One word does it all!


In other news, it never ceases to amaze me how unbelievably unhelpful are tech support. I had to call Microsoft today about a seemingly small issue, do you know I was given six different numbers and never really helped!?!? It was amazing. Well, amazingly frustrating. I eventually figured out the answer to my own issue, or rather stumbled upon the solution is more like it. Three, loooonnnggg hours it took. I stand amazed, and not in a good way.

Well, that's about all I have to say, I've been feeling a little sick the last couple of days, so as I continue typing and looking at this bright screen my thoughts are starting to muddle. So, I'm thinking that's enough incoherency for one night. :)

Another Recipe...

Here's one more recipe for the world, my attempt at "Organic" Carrot cake. :)

Cake
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups organic/natural sugar
2 teasp. baking soda
2 teasp. cinnamon
1 teasp. Lite salt
3 cups grated carrots (@ 3 grated Earthbound organic carrots…fresh!)
4 organic brown eggs
1 teasp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup Enova Oil
*Optional* Raisins

1.Sift dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.
2.Mix in grated carrots, vanilla, eggs.
3.Beat, and add oil slowly.
4.Stir in Raisins
5.Pour into a buttered 8"x12" pan, or two 8" diameter round pans.
6.Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until the center is done.
7.Let cool.

Frosting
8 oz. Fat Free Philadelphia cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 lb. Fat Free powdered sugar
rind of an orange
walnuts

1.Beat cream cheese, adding butter, orange rind, and vanilla.
2.Add powdered sugar in thirds, beating.
3.Frost cake, top with nuts.

Just like Mom's....

So, I thought I would be kind and post a recipe my mom gave me for homemade chicken and noodles. This has become a staple in my diet, easy to cook and freeze and reheat. Tasty, filling, and healthy, it's perfect for the "soon to be" cold days. I hope you enjoy!

JL's Chicken and Noodles

Chicken Noodle Soup (Makes @ 6 servings)

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts (or other Chicken parts)
4-6 Chicken Bouillon Cubes
Seasoning (I try to use seasoning options w/ little or no salt, "Simply Organic" All-Purpose Seasoning is a good option)
@3-4 bay leaves, crushed
@ 1 cup chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
Noodles (I prefer Healthy Harvest, Wheat blend extra-wide noodles or any "Egg-Free" noodle)
Baby Carrots
Celery

1. Season chicken parts (onion w/parsley, garlic w/parsley, all purpose seasoning and/or poultry seasoning)
2. Set chicken, carrots and celery to boil w. bay leaves and bouillon cubes for @ 1.5-2 hours, or until chicken is completely cooked through
3. Add chicken broth, and continue to boil for @ 30 minutes
4. Boil noodles separately, when tender drain and add to chicken pot
5. Add cream of chicken soup, reduce to simmer and stir to mix ingredients

Ready to Serve!

I'm up waaayyy too late...

So, I was sitting here on my computer, way past what should be my bed time, so I decided to do a quick post. Actually, I was making great headway towards being to bed at a reasonable hour, however, I started fooling around with a bunch of audio programs, trying my hardest to extract the vocals from a mp3 track. I was asked to sing at a wedding tomorrow afternoon, and wasn't able to secure a pianist, therefore, I needed to be clever in providing myself with some sort of background. Well, three programs, and several online searches later, I finally thought of a different song. So, I just changed the words around a bit, and almost immediately found the background track for it. I'm was a little upset that I hadn't thought of that earlier or I would be in bed now!

By the way, here's a really cool website that I use from time to time (and where I found the background for this song). They have a lot of good songs on here.

http://www.bensonsound.com/catalog/atoz.cfm?startlet=kZ&stoplet=m0&rangelimit=

Well, I started putting away some laundry, then my ADD kicked in and I started looking for clothes for tomorrow, and then ADD kicked in again and I decided to do a search on my clothes for tomorrow. LOL! Ok, let me explain. While looking in my closet I found a polka dot dress, that I haven't worn in a looonnng time because I lost the sweater to it, and haven't found something suitable to wear with it, until tonight! I paired it with a polka dot jacket that i bought recently. It is actually a very good match of black with white polka dots (the black in the jacket and on the dress are a little different, but close enough that I don't think most people will be able to tell), so i'll just wear the jacket in place of the sweater and it gives the dress a whole new look.

Even so, though I think it looks pretty good I decided to do a search to find out if "certain types of people" should wear "certain types of patterns" and I found that small polka dots are ok, because they have a "slimming affect", according to one online columnist.
Then of course my mind went to what shoes would be perfect, and I thought, "Wow some red pumps would be stunning!" But of course, i don't have red pumps. Then I started thinking about those red pumps that I started to buy a few months back, but didn't. Sigh....

Ok, so i'm not usually so shallow, chattering on about fashion and such, but hey, it's 3 am. What do you expect??? Ok, going to bed now, goodnight!